Insulator.



F. C. PIERCE.

INSULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 31. I916.

Patented J an. 16, 1917.

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FRANK o. rrnncn, or cAMrBrnn, COLORADO.

INSULATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 16, 1917.

Application filed May 31, 1916. Serial No. 100,796.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK C. PIERCE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Campbird, in the county of Ouray and State of Colorado, have invented a new and Improved Insulator, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to insulators of that type in which the body of the insulator is provided with a slot to receive the wire and in which the wire is clamped by wedging means.

The invention has for its general objects to improve the construction of a device of this character so as to be reliable and eflicient in use, comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and so designed that the stringing of a wire is greatly facilitated and expedited.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of an insulator having a slot or opening into which the wire is placed,

and extending transversely to the slot or opening is a wedge which directly engages the wire to bind the same against a seat in the slot or. opening for preventing longitudinal movement of the wire in the insulator, the invention being thus contrasted from that type of insulator in which clamping wedges are driven into the wire opening or slot in a direction parallel with the wire, which is objectionable because a longitudinal strain on the wire in one direction tends to loosen the wedge, but in the improved construction herein set forth the wedge efiectively withstands longitudinal strains on the wire in either direction.

.Vith such objects in view, and others which will appear as the description procecds, the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be set forth with particularity in the following description and claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates certain embodiments of the invention and wherein similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, Figure 1 is a plan view of an insulator in which the seats and wedges are serrated to increase the gripping action on the wire; Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a modification in which the seats and wedges are curved to produce bights in the wire when the wedges are driven home; Fig.

4 is a sectional view on the line H, Fig. 3; F ig. 5 is a side view of further modification; Fig. 6 is a side view of a modified form of wedge; and. Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 77, F 6.

Referring to the drawing, A designates the body of the insulator, which may be made of any suitable material and shaped or proportioned according to the desirec requirements. In the present instance he body is shown approximately cubical, which has the advantage of durability and strength. Extending transversely of the body is a passage 1 for the reception of a screw or equiva lent fastening whereby the insulator is secured in place on a support. The body has adjacent one face a wire-receiving passage 2 which is of considerable depth, and in the bottom thereof is adapted to receive the wire or conductor B. The face of the block or body A adjacent the passage has a horizontal opening 3 which joins with the passage 2 adjacent the top portion thereof, so that the conductor 13 can be readily inserted into or removed from the slot or passage 2 by a lateral movement. '.he'botto1n of thepassage is provided with seats 4 on which the conductor rests, and these seats may be serrated, as shown in Fig. 1, or curved downwardly, as shown in Fig. 3. The insulator has one or more transverse passages 5 extending from the front to the rear for receiving clamping wedges 6. These wedges may have serrated under surfaces, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or curved under surfaces, as shown in Figs. 3 and i, whereby they cooperate with the seats 4 to ti htly clamp the conductor B to prevent longitudinal slipping thereof. The under surfaces of the wedges are inclined so that, as the wedges are driven in, the conductor B is eflectively clamped between the wedges and the seats, the bevel of the wedges being such that the wedges cannot automatically become loosened but must be driven out when the conductor is to be unfastened. The wedges hold the conductor out of alinement with the opening or mouth 3 of the slot or passage 2,

lVhen using curved wedges and seats, as shown in Fig. 3, bights b are formed in the conductor, whereby the longitudinal slipping of the conductor is positively prevented.

In Fig. 5 the passage 2 in the insulator A is not provided with a lateral opening or mouth, so that it is necessary to string or thread the conductor through the passage 2, this construction being desirable where great strength is required. In this case the wedge 6 serves to clamp the wire against longitudinal slipping and does not act as a keeper for preventing the wire from moving into alinement with the mouth of the passage, as in the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 3. If desired, the wedges may be constructed as shown in Fig. 6, there being transverse serrations G well as longitudinal serrations, as shown in the forms illustrated in his. 1 and 2.

he insulator body may be provided with a petticoat formed by a circumferential flange T, as shown in Fig. 5, the plane of the flange being inclined so as to form a shed whereby moisture and corroding waters are diverted from the wire and supporting screw.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, the advantages of the construction and method of operation will be readily understood by those skillet. in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the priniple of operation, to-

gether with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shownis merely illustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An insulator comprising a block of insulating material having a horizontal passage several times greater in height than in width, and the passage being provided with a side opening intermediate the top and bottom of the passage, whereby wire-receiving seats are provided by the passage at points above and below the opening, there being another horizontal passage extending transversely of the block and crossing the firstmentioned passage, and a wedge driven 1ongitudinally into the second-mentioned passage to clamp a wire against either of the said seats.

2. An insulator of the class described comprising. a body having a passage extending from one side thereof to the other, and the passage being in height several times greater than the width of the passage to provide wire-receiving seats at the top or bottom of the passage, there being a second passage extending through the body transversely to the first passage, and a wedge disposed in the second passage to clamp the Wire against either of the seats of the first passage.

FRANK G. PIERCE.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

